Info
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Pages: 416
Published: September 28, 2021
Goodreads Rating: 4.15/5
My Rating: 5/5
Plot Summary
For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings… until she learns that the love of her life will marry another.
Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic but wicked Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.
But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game—and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after or the most exquisite tragedy…
Character Development
Evangeline Fox is an orphaned girl who believes in the fairytales her mother told her as a child. Living with an unkind stepmother her only comforts are working at her late father’s curiosity shop and Luc, the man she is deeply in love with. But in a twisted sense of fate, Luc is to be married to her stepsister, Marisol. Evangeline is desperate to stop their wedding and strikes a bargain with a Fate. This little deal, however, proves to be far more than she expected as she is whisked away to the Magnificent North with promises of true love and destiny awaiting her.
Jacks, known as the Prince of Hearts, is a charismatic Fate with a cruel sense of humor and a love for apples. He decides to help Evangeline stop the wedding but in return asks her for three kisses to be given at a time and place of his choosing. Although he seems to be helping Evangeline, Jacks has plans of his own that involve her.
Evangeline and Jacks are surrounded by a cast of well-crafted secondary characters like Prince Apollo Acadian, ruler of the Magnificent North, Marisol Tourmaline, Luc Navarro, Poison and LaLa. Furthermore, important characters from the Caraval make a brief appearance (Scarlett and Donatella) which is a nice nod to the original trilogy.
Themes
True love is the central theme of the novel as we follow Evangeline’s quest to secure her happy ending with the love of her life.
Bargaining with dangerous forces (or Fates) might appear appealing at first but always comes with bitter consequences.
Heartbreak is another theme that the book deals with and is the reason Evangeline and Jacks are brought together.
Last but not least, fairytales have a primary role in the course of the story as well as a special place in Evangeline’s heart.
My Thoughts
Once Upon a Broken Heart is such a delightful fantasy novel! It spoke right through my fairytale-loving soul and its dark magical elements combined with romance sparked up my interest and I couldn’t put it down.
